'Shine' Depicts False View of Mental Illness

Published: March 15, 1997

There has been considerable criticism of David Helfgott's piano playing in the press (''The 'Shine' Spectacle,'' Editorial Notebook, March 10).

Music critics have pointed out the inaccuracy of Mr. Helfgott's depiction as a reborn musical genius and urge readers to distinguish between cinema musicality and real-life virtuosity.

However, thus far there has been no discussion of the veracity of the portrait of David Helfgott's mental illness.

Personally, I have never seen a case like that depicted in the film.

For lack of a better diagnosis, the cinematic David seems to have a severe case of ''movie madness,'' a celluloid amalgam of schizophrenia, manic-depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and idiot savant.

A second piece of misinformation concerns the depiction of psychiatric treatment.

The film implies that David's deterioration was marked, if not caused, by electroconvulsive therapy, or ''shock therapy.''

In real life, electroconvulsive therapy is among the most effective treatments known to medicine.

Moreover, since the 1960's, it has been done in such a manner that is not associated with disabling damage.

The most egregious misinformation in the film, however, is the attribution of David's nervous breakdown to the cruelty of his father.

Since cinema began, mental illness has been attributed to heartless parents.

Most such films were produced during the middle of the century, when the idea was advanced by mental health professionals, particularly by psychoanalysts who saw the ''schizophrenogenic mother'' as the evil root of all mental illness.

Today we recognize that such theories added outrageous insult to severe injury.

We now believe that severe mental illnesses require at least a biological predisposition. The accepted biological theory of major mental illnesses is not only backed by studies of identical twins, but it is also supported by DNA genetic linkage studies.

I worry about the impact of the film on the millions of individuals and families dealing with major mental illness. ''Shine,'' an uplifting film about the resilience of the human spirit, seems to continue a tradition of blaming parents for mental illnesses that rob their children of meaningful lives -- illness that, to the best of our understanding, defies the logic of searching for human villains.